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i want to build my HTPC using for i5-661 intel which have gpu card inside and H55 mobo, is it possible for viewing 3D or not? especially combine with nvidia 3d vision.

Because the nvidia gpu card stand alone is not support for HDMI audio such as dtshdma or dolby true hd. It only transfer for dd/dts capable only.
I need a HTPC solution that using hdmi output to transfer either video 3D HD and audio HD

Ok so im reading on all these 120hz lcd's and 3d tv's and im wondering the following:

Lets say i decide i want to buy a 120Hz TV, im actually looking at the Sony KDL-60EX700, it is a 120Hz LCD, will i be able to connect my desktop with my GTX 295 GPU and use it for 3D Gaming/Movies using the Nvidia Vision Kit/PowerDVD 10 Ultra?

Nvidia indicates it just requires a 120Hz LCD, i'll be using such an LCD with that TV.

I would like to buy a 3D TV but for the same price of a 55" Sammy, i can get a 60" Sony, im sure those extra 5" are worthy but will it work? Anyone else tried this?

For NVIDIA 3D Vision, the display must support 1080p@120Hz video input via dual-link DVI or VGA (HDMI does not support 1080p@120Hz) (or checkerboard 60Hz over HDMI for Samsung/Mitsubishi DLP 3D by TI). If the display is not on the list, it won't work (I don't know why Samsung DLP 3D are not included).

If you get the new nvidia gtx460 it has a certified HDMI 1.4a out so it will support all of the 3D tv's and as an added plus it has bitstreaming capabilities, but if you want to use your gtx295 it has to have a dual link DVI or be one of the DLP tvs with the checkerboard 3d

- Among the cards you mentioned (GTX 460 is forgotten; what about Core i3-5xx?), which support hardware decode acceleration for MPEG-4 MVC and which not (VP4: Yes, VP3: No).

- Apparently the CPU selection depends on the above heavily. If GPU offloads MPEG-4 MVC decode from CPU, any desktop dual-core processor should be good for Blu-ray 3D. Otherwise, only Core i5-661? I guess Core i5-530 is enough, with CPU usage ~50%.

Graphics core clock: 733MHz vs 900MHz, but that rarely affects decoding. It's 20% fast at best in various benchmarks: compare. So $196 is terribly overpriced vs $113. But let's wait to see...

If you are going to use GT 240 or GTX 4xxx (equipped with VP4 that offloads 100% from CPU), a cheap Celeron E3xxx/Athlon (II) X2 is enough anyway. There is absolutely no need of spending $196 on CPU. From Tom's Hardware:

The Clarkdale lineup is honestly made up of CPUs that are too expensive. The Core i5 670, 661/660 and 650 are all priced above $170 and aren’t worth the money.

Quote:

Turbo just isn't as interesting with only two cores. With four cores you used to have to make a tradeoff between good 4 and 2 threaded performance, but Lynnfield fixed that. No one really debates single vs. dual core anymore. The single core turbo modes are great, but aren't worth the money. Pay attention to the i3s.

Blu-ray player software utilizes these modern graphics processors to decode Blu-ray 3D MVC, resulting in very low CPU utilization and flawless video performance.

You can buy GeForce GT 240 (the best card [in price/performance] for Blu-ray 3D is also forgotten in OP!!) at $60 and a decent dual core processor at $60 (Celeron, Pentium, Athlon II X2), $120 in total. Recommending Core i5-661 $196 as if it is the minimum requirement does not sound right.

I didn't say the parts were the cheapest that would work. For a inexpensive HTPC I would recommend the lowest price Dell Inspiron (Inspiron 560) $449.00, and buying a Blu Ray drive for 70.00 and a Zotak ZT-20404-20L Video card for 98.00. Which is about 620.00 Canadian and includes Windows 7 OEM.

There is new, and then you are new.This is a moral of the bears and their cereal.

The Tomshardware 3D article mentions the AMD Athlon II X3 440, but no Intel equivalent, so I looked up some charts online and found one saying the Clarksdale 661 is about equivalent to the forementioned AMD CPU.

There is new, and then you are new.This is a moral of the bears and their cereal.

Tom's Hardware article, as well as the CyberLink white paper I cited tells which NVIDIA GPUs support hardware decode acceleration for MPEG-4 MVC.

- GT 240, GT 320/330/340 (all OEM), GTX 460/465/470/480: Yes. The keyword is VP4 (PureVideo HD Gen 4), according to Patrick Beaulieu from NVIDIA (this person). 210 and GT 220 also support VP4, but are not good for Blu-ray 3D because of memory bandwidth issue.

- All the other GPUs (GTX 260 up to 295, and whatever else): No.

Currently GeForce GT 240 (< $100) is the best choice for Blu-ray 3D; you can pair it with any desktop dual-core processor for smooth playback. The only issue is non-support for HD audio bitstreaming. A cheaper Fermi card supporting it will come later as well as Radeon HD 6xxx (a new UVD supporting MPEG-4 MVC, and HDMI 1.4a) this fall-winter...

Thougt so..
Think not having nvidia hardware will be a showstopper. Seems like powerdvd looks for nvidia hardware, if you choose 120Hz tme sequential display in the 3D dropdown box.
Can´t remember where I read that...

A "120Hz Frame-sequential 3D Display" is a display that takes 120Hz frame sequential video *input* over dual-link DVI or VGA or HDMI (only 720p or lower). This is exactly NVIDIA 3D Vision (-ready display) and this works only with NVIDIA graphics and NVIDIA 3D Vision Kit.

dual-link DVI or VGA for 1080p@120 or HDMI or VGA for 720p@120 (output by a 3D Vision ready NVIDIA graphics card)
-> frame sequential 1920x1080 @120Hz displayed.
DLP 3D Technology by TI (checkerboard) is different. You have to select "3D Ready HDTV" in PowerDVD in this case. You can use DLP-Link glasses, NVIDIA 3D Vision glasses (with its own emitter) or any other 3D active shutter glasses (with the matching emitter).

MPEG-4 MVC
-> frame packing 1920x2160 @23.976Hz (decoded by GPU or CPU/PowerDVD or TMT)
-> checkerboard 1920x1080 @60Hz (encoded by PowerDVD or TMT). Note that half of the resolution is lost in this process.
-> over

MPEG-4 MVC
-> frame packing 1920x2160 @23.976Hz (decoded by GPU or CPU/PowerDVD)
-> row-interleaved 1920x1080 @60Hz (encoded by PowerDVD). Note that half of the resolution is lost in this process.
-> over

From a display viewpoint, NVIDIA 3D Vision is the simplest because it does not require extra IC (hence there are several cheaper 3D Vision-ready displays). It requires dual-link DVI however (the reason is unclear as HDMI 1.3 must have enough bandwidth for 1080p@120Hz?), hence does not support HDMI audio at all (use S/PDIF instead ).

This rig is to be build primarily for a dedicated HTPC to be used in conjunction with the rest of my HT.
I play mostly FPS and Flight Sims stuffs.
The display is Mits DLP 73837 with 3dc-1000 kit in coupling with Nividia 3d vision kit.
The listed parts are being shipped as i wrote this.

So do I understand correctly that if I were to wait for a 1.4a display, I could choose between:

- Instant gratification by going with the above solution (with the driver update for the hardware that is available right now). As a downside I would probably be losing out on HDaudio bitstreaming as the above mentioned cards do not have a 1.4a HDMI port and as such are not compatible to run both the HDAudio and 3D signal even if a 1.4a cable is used?

- waiting so I can keep my old system (it's no slouch but no spring chicken either...) and plugging in an ATI HD6000 series card when it gets here (I suppose this will have 1.4a??)

- doing the same but with the nVidia counterpart (when will they have 1.4a cards on their roster?)

- upgrading my system to an i3 cpu/mainboard combo but then my question is: which chipset is slated to have a 1.4a HDMI output?

So do I understand correctly that if I were to wait for a 1.4a display, I could choose between:

- Instant gratification by going with the above solution (with the driver update for the hardware that is available right now). As a downside I would probably be losing out on HDaudio bitstreaming as the above mentioned cards do not have a 1.4a HDMI port and as such are not compatible to run both the HDAudio and 3D signal even if a 1.4a cable is used?

- waiting so I can keep my old system (it's no slouch but no spring chicken either...) and plugging in an ATI HD6000 series card when it gets here (I suppose this will have 1.4a??)

- doing the same but with the nVidia counterpart (when will they have 1.4a cards on their roster?)

- upgrading my system to an i3 cpu/mainboard combo but then my question is: which chipset is slated to have a 1.4a HDMI output?

If you want to connect a HTPC to AVR, then AVR to a HDMI 1.4a display, you will need a HTPC 1.4a AVR (to pass HDMI 1.4a video signals and decode TrueHD/DTS-HD).

HDMI 1.4a + MVC decoding + HD audio bitstreaming solution: GTX 460 (with the upcoming 3DTV Play driver) is the only choice right now. GT(S) 440, the replacement of GT 240, is coming in September (as well as GTS 450). HD 6xxx in November. Intel HD Graphics (Core i3-5xx/Core i5-6xx) is supposed to support HDMI 1.4a video formats with a driver update.

If you want to connect a HTPC to AVR, then AVR to a HDMI 1.4a display, you will need a HTPC 1.4a AVR (to pass HDMI 1.4a video signals and decode TrueHD/DTS-HD).

HDMI 1.4a + MVC decoding + HD audio bitstreaming solution: GTX 460 (with the upcoming 3DTV Play driver) is the only choice right now. GT(S) 440, the replacement of GT 240, is coming in September (as well as GTS 450). HD 6xxx in November. Intel HD Graphics (Core i3-5xx/Core i5-6xx) is supposed to support HDMI 1.4a video formats with a driver update.

Thx renethx.
Hmmm so a simple driver update is all that is needed for the H55/H57 chipset to support HDMI 1.4a on currently existing boards. That sounds tempting...
As long as it's no Bios update that is required: I don't trust mobo manufacturers to give you that Bios. Most of the time they just release another board
But from this thread, it doesn't look like Intel is delivering on its promise either...

I think I'll build myself a small new htpc for the living room for a future 3D display there... All I would need is a processor, mobo, some ram and a case (still have a spare ps and hdd lying around)

And for the HT I can simply wait until there is some movement on the 3D projection front and then plunk in a new graph card in my aging htpc